At the outskirts of the town, the family centre of Lauchringen built an "Adventure Land": A big house with sleeping facilities, a kitchen, sanitary facilities, a workshop space and a big common room. This place is going to host groups during school holidays and offer an afternoon program for children and youngsters. The building itself will be finished in March; however, your help is needed to shape the garden area around it! You might help create a play area with water, stone, and sand: Build a small hill; from its top, a small stream will flow down and find its way through sand and stones. Not only your helping hands, but also your creativity is welcome for this task! Besides, there are many more small projects, for example, set up wooden elements to hide a steel fence. Apart from these tasks, you will help maintain the local stream: Lots of weed is growing next to the stream, and your support in removing it is very much appreciated!
Accomodation & food:
You will be accommodated in the "Adventure Land" itself – as the very first group to stay in the new building! There are two rooms with sleeping mats, a kitchen, and sanitary facilities – everything you need. Have a look at pictures of the new building here: http://faz-hochrhein.de/abenteuerland/category/blog/
Location & leisure:
Lauchringen is a small and pretty town in the very South of the Black Forest. It is just a stone's throw away from the Swiss border and not far from places like Lake Constance and the university town of Freiburg. Lauchringen itself offers everything you need: shopping facilities, cafés, bars and much more.
You are interested in archeology and historical craftsmanship? Then you this is the camp for you! You can take part in the assembly of the archeological open air museum „Zeiteninsel". Remains of several settlements from the prehistoric area have been found in the area of the Lahntal close to Niederweimar and Argenstein. The extensive archeological evidence prove that there has been long-term settlement in the region for thousands of years. In order to make these rich findings of archeology accessible, a archeological open air museum documenting the history of settlement in North Hesse will be build. Five time stations will be build on the premise and you and your group will help with putting up a long house which dates back to the middle Neolithic period. Big family or tribe groups has probably lived in long houses like this, which is almost 30 m long and 8 m wide. Under professional supervision, you will help to plaster the outer walls. You will maybe even have the opportunity to participate in workshops (for example archery, bronze casting and many more).
Accomodation & food:
You will stay in the youth centre of Wolfshausen. You will cook together.
Location & leisure:
You will stay in Wolfshausen, a district of Weimar (Lahn). This is a more rural area, but there is a train station in Niederweimar from which you can reach the univeristy town of Marburg in 7min. Apart from that, the big cities Frankfurt and Kassel are easily reached by train from there. If your archeological work in the museum is not enough for you, you can also visit the archeological open air museums „ Römerkastell Saalburg" close to Frankfurt.
Requirements:
The work is partly physically demanding and only for participants who are genuinely interested in archeology and craftsmanship.
In June and July Open Houses organises Building Weeks and Workcamps in the same period at Lohra Castle. The two working groups are living together and they are one community. The only difference between the two projects are the different topics they are working on. During the project it will be possible, that volunteers join the other working group, because of their skills or their own interests. Therefore please also see the Lohra Castle Workcamps descriptions.Masonry – Jointing the masonry of the old sheep shelterThe biggest building of Lohra Castle complex is the sheep shelter which consists of a small elderly part and a huge newer part, built in 1907 by using the stones of the Romanic castle tower from the 11th century. Under professional guidance of an elderly craftsman the volunteers of these Building Weeks will joint the masonry of the sheep shelter.
Accomodation & food:
Within the old service buildings of the castle, you will stay in four little houses with 3- and 4- or 6- bedrooms with showers (limited hot water) and toilettes. The equipment is simple but fair. The fully equipped kitchen, which is situated next to the accommodation houses, is a separate building with large tables and benches inside. The atmosphere is rustic and historic.The meals will be prepared together as they are part of the community life, what means that everybody will be responsible for the meal at least once during its stay. So it would be very nice if you could bring typical recipes from home in order to introduce each other to the preparation of food from all over the world.
Location & leisure:
Lohra Castle is situated in the heart of Germany in Northern Thuringia. The castle, which is surrounded by a scenic hilly landscape, is located on the edge of a nature reserve area. Being one of the largest castles in Thuringia, the history of the castle Lohra begins in the Middle Age. The castle is more than 1,000 years old. Today, it includes twenty buildings from different times: medieval fortifications, remnants of a tower from the 11th century, a Romanesque chapel, a manor house from the Renaissance period as well as stables and granaries from the 19th and the early 20th centuries. The ensemble is situated in the centre of a beautiful forest. For years Lohra Castle was vacant. In the 1990s Open Houses started to restore the castle and to revive it by cultural activities. Since that time, a large number of Workcamps, Building Weeks, exhibitions, concerts and other activities with international participants took place in the castle.The castle is situated next to a nature protected area. You can explore the landscape by foot; worth seeing is the chapel in Münchenlohra. Excursions to Sondershausen, Mühlhausen or Nordhausen will be discussed once you arrived.
Requirements:
Motivation letter related to the project and CV + photo required
Age:
18-70
Location:
Großlohra
Language(s):
English, German
Airport:
LEJ: Leipzig Halle (Leipzig, Germany)Vegetarian food will be available
Carpentry - Restoration of the roof of the Youth Accommodation HouseThe roofing of Rathewalde Youth Accommodation Houses is by now fifty years old and has to be renewed. Under the professional guidance of a carpenter the participants of the Building Weeks will remove the old roofing, repair the roof construction and afterwards reroof the house. Although the roofing is not a traditional one the works will be very interesting because the combination of the different roof constructions of the different parts of the house dating back to different times will generate the need to find intelligent detail solutions. Because it will be sometimes not possible that the whole group will work on the roof at the same time the other volunteers will in these times carry out renovation works at the house as well as at a former rectory in a neighbour village dating back to the 18th century that is restored and managed by Open Houses, too.
Accomodation & food:
Shared rooms with 4-6 beds, limited warm shower and toilets, no washing machines,The meals will be prepared together as they are part of the community life, what means that everybody will be responsible for the meal at least once during its stay. So it would be very nice if you could bring typical recipes from home in order to introduce each other to the preparation of food from all over the world.
Location & leisure:
Rathewalde Youth Accommodation House is situated at the traditional health resort Rathewalde in Saxony. The building is located at the end of the village, directly at the border of the National Park Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland). The mountains are famous for their typical formations of sandstone with lots of small caves and overwhelming views from the tops of the mountains. The National Park offers various possibilities of hiking and climbing tours of different levels. The house was originally built around 1880, in the following decades it had been extended step by step. When Open Houses overtook the responsibility for the house it was partly in a really bad condition; during the past years countless volunteers restored and renovated the building. The house is surrounded by a beautiful garden with old rhododendrons. From the garden there is a fascinating view into the neighbouring valley and on rock formations.
Requirements:
Motivation letter related to the project and CV + photo required
Age:
18-70
Location:
Rathewalde
Language(s):
English, German
Airport:
DRS: Dresden (Dresden, Germany)Vegetarian food will be available
In the last years with the help of several workcamps there was created a new seminar room and volunteers designed a nice courtyard for recreation and leisure time outside. This year it is planned to build a "campus for nature and youth". Volunteers can help to set up different garden patches for cultivation and as well biotopes for nature conservation. Beside this it is planned to build several housings like a yurt, a tepee and hut in traditional loam construction.As every year, volunteers are invited to get to know the local Perma Culture garden and do some gardening there. While looking after the plants, there this the possibility to harvest fruits. Of course there is also the opportunity to get to know about the idea of a Permaculture with its, plants, animals and environment.Therefore we are looking for motivated young people who are interested in handicrafts, living with nature and gardening/landscaping.
Study part:
How to create a productive garden which grows plants and feeds animals in a way that only a minimum input of energy and resources are required to achieve maximum sustainability to the environment? Interesting ecological and cultural projects and information from your country is very welcome.
Accomodation & food:
The participants are accommodated in the big seminar room. Food will be prepared together in the big kitchen of the seminar house.
Remarks:
Please bring working clothes and a sleeping bag with you.
Location & leisure:
The project will take place in a famous river hill and cultural landscape in the middle of Saxony at the foot of the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), 35 km from Dresden, 15 km from Freiberg.The afternoons and evenings, also weekends are free for personal use: sports, swimming, fieldtrips in the region and to Freiberg. There will be a group of around 5 local German volunteers participating in the workcamp. Good possibility to improve your German language skills. In the last weekend, volunteers will join the summer party of the University in the Farmhouse.
Terminal:
Freiberg, near Dresden. Airports: Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig.
Age:
18-26
Location:
Gossberg / sachsen
Language(s):
English, German
Airport:
LEJ: Leipzig Halle (Leipzig, Germany)Vegetarian food will be available
Please be open for any work that will help the project partners. You will do various construction and renovation works on the site of Schloess Broellin to make the place more attractive. Various projects are planned like supporting works to clean the ground, painting works, setting up a studio etc. The place has got a new park with a lot of dead woods which have to me removed and cut. Your help will also be needed to maintain the garden and help in the kitchen. As you can see, there is a lot of work to be done and in the end of the project you will be able to see what you have done.
Accomodation & food:
The volunteers will be accommodated in shared rooms in a building. You will receive sheets and blankets, so there is no need to bring a sleeping bag.
Location & leisure:
Broellin is a small village mostly made up of the Schloss Broellin estate. It is situated about 6 km from Pasewalk, the capital town of the regional district. Broellin has no shops, but you will find supermarkets and smaller shops in Pasewalk; the biggest ones are open Monday-Saturday 8am-10pm.In Broellin, you will be surrounded by fields and quiet in a landscape with traces from end moraines of the last ice age. On clear nights you can gaze at an impressive starlit sky. Nearby are small lakes that can be reached on foot, the closest one is only a 15 minute walk from the estate.
Dudenhofen needs your help with beautifying an already existing adventure play park. You will carry out a variety of gardening and landscaping works such as woodwork, stonework and earthwork. Additionally, you will build adventure equipment such as playing and balancing stations. Let your imagination run wild, because your ideas can contribute to the design of the play park.
Accomodation & food:
You will stay in a gym. The community will take care of your food.
Location & leisure:
You will have bikes at your disposal and there is good public transport with a bus connection to Speyer. There are plenty of free time activities around Dudenhofen and you can take trips to Heidelberg, Mannheim, Karlsruhe and the river Rhine. You will have a minivan at your disposal at certain times.
The community of Willstaett needs your help in three different areas this year: Expanding the grounds in front of the "Bauhof" (builder's yard), which includes preparing the ground and paving it. Other tasks for the work camp group include re-painting BBQ huts and the maintenance of public green spaces. You will work together with the staff of the Bauhof.
Accomodation & food:
The work camp will be accommodated in a building of the fire brigade with all sanitary facilities, camp beds and a kitchen provided. Please bring your own sleeping bag.
Location & leisure:
The community of Willstaett contains several villages with, all in all, around 10.000 inhabitants. It is situated in the beautiful southern part of Germany, close to the border of France. It is characterised by its beautiful architectural style. With its spectacular waterfalls, castles, and nature, there is also plenty to see and discover in the landscape close to the Black Forest. German cities like Freiburg or Karlsruhe are not too far away and well worth seeing; the French city of Strasbourg also offers a wide range of cultural events.
« The most beautiful thing about volunteering obviously is the people you meet… the helpfulness the understanding…there is always someone who puts a plate of food in front of you if you say you are not hungry and not in the mood, or gives you a pep talk or simply a hug. »
yap-uk
+44 0208 123 5927
